Fair Work Commission to set new minimum wage as unions push for record rise

The Fair Work Commission will hand down its decision tomorrow, as unions push for a record $50-a-week pay rise.

The Fair Work Commission will tomorrow announce its annual minimum wage decision.

The Fair Work Commission will tomorrow hand down its annual minimum wage decision, announcing pay rises that will flow to an estimated 2.3 million workers.

Unions are pushing for a record $50-a-week pay rise for the nation’s lowest-paid, more than double the amount awarded last year.

In the biggest one-off dollar-terms rise sought to the national minimum wage, the ACTU urged the commission to increase the rate from $694.90 to $744.90 a week, equivalent to a 7.2 per cent rise.

Employers said granting the “extraordinary, ambit” claim would force small businesses to lay off employees and reduce trading hours. Most business groups have sought to limit the increase to $12.50 to $13.20 a week.

But the restaurant and cafe sector and retailers have called for a minimum wage freeze, claiming prevailing economic conditions warranted a zero per cent increase for low paid workers.

Any minimum wage increase will come into operation on July 1, the same day as the second round of penalty rate cuts in certain industries will apply.

The commission will hand down the decision at 11am.